Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer on the UCF Ereck Plancher Lawsuit Award

Just a few weeks ago, a jury found the University of Central Florida Athletics Association negligent in the Ereck Plancher, wrongful death lawsuit. The jury awarded $10 million to the family who brought the wrongful death lawsuit. For those who don’t know, Ereck Plancher died during football conditioning workouts in 2008 while a member of the University of Central Florida football team. As a Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer, I have unfortunately heard about and read about similar stories to this one. The lawsuit alleges that Plancher died from organ damage brought on by the nature of the training workouts, which in turn caused his red blood cells to warp.

His red blood cells warped because he had sickle cell anemia. One of the bigger issues in the case was the allegation that the university knew about Plancher’s condition because he had previously undergone medical tests for the university. The plaintiffs alleged that the university never informed Plancher, or his his parents, whereas the University of Central Florida Athletics Association argued that he signed medical wavers. From the perspective of a Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney, and as a parent, that is a very terrifying thing to hear. If true, I cannot imagine any parent who wouldn’t be outraged if they weren’t informed of an issue like this. In the end, the family countered that he had to sign the waivers out of fear of losing his football scholarship.

This particular tragedy is very relevant to us in South Florida, since many children in our community attend the University of Central Florida. As a Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer, I think that, especially in the Florida heat, it seems apparent that there needed to be better safety precautions in place. This is one of those lawsuits where there truly are no winners. This wrongful death outcome seems like it could have, and should have, been avoided.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Fort Lauderdale wrongful deaths. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.